Several dozen clones jogged casually towards the remaining intact bushes that rimmed the barren fighting grounds. Diving into the greenery, the troop of blonds began rooting about as they searched for the scroll he had thrown in for safekeeping.
Watching as his replicas got hunting, Naruto turned back over to see a fading black smoke pillar at the other end of the grounds. Pulling himself to his feet, the teen began jogging towards the signal. After that massive explosion, the blond felt the need to check and see what remained of the unlucky mage.
Covering the distance in only a few minutes, Naruto wrinkled his nose and slowed to a walk. Even if the smoke trail wasn't there it wouldn't have been hard to find Zancrow's remains. The stink of burnt hair and flesh putrefied the air and it was enough to make even a ninja like Naruto cringe.
Stepping past a few rocks and ruined trees, Naruto placed a hand on the trunk of one such plant and looked around it. Lying behind the tree was his opponent. Burnt black sections of skin patch worked his body, his near bald head flaking ash and dust as a soft wind blew past him. Narrowing his eyes in confusion though, the teen knelt down beside the mage and reached out to finger the remains of the dress Zancrow wore.
The shear intensity of that fire blast had been enough to melt patches of the sand around them into a form of glass. On that observation alone, Naruto would have expected every thread on his body to have been burnt away into nothingness. The fabric itself didn't feel all that special, but perhaps there had been runes written into them to make them more flame resistant. A mage that excelled in fire magic was wearing them after all.
Assuming that was the case, it would also account for the reason he wasn't completely burnt away to ash. Shaking his head, the blond sighed and sat back on his haunches while staring down at the apparent corpse. His eyes were open and red, the pupils long gone however as they had rolled right back into his head. His open mouth didn't really help the image; the wide orifice stuck open in a silent, agonizing scream.
The image itself was too horrific to be left alone, so reaching out Naruto dragged his fingers over the mages eyes and forcefully closed his mouth. From there, he tried to find a pulse but Zancrow's neck, chest and wrists were all too well cooked to allow him to find anything. So leaning forward, the blond rested his cheek just above the mages nose and closed his eyes.
Feeling nothing coming from the nostrils, Naruto sat back again and rubbed the back of his neck. By all means the mage was dead, so now it was just a matter of what to do with him. He could bury him here and let things end here, but if the magic council was anything like the villages back home, they probably had a bounty on this guy's head.
Naruto didn't really need the money, but proof he was gone for would probably be appreciated and like any good medic nin, the mages here could probably learn a lot about his magic through his corpse.
Lifting himself up, Naruto generated yet another clone. It gave Naruto a look of disgust before reaching out and lifting the charred male up onto its shoulders. Shifting his weight, the clone looked back at Naruto and stuck its tongue out. "You are so lucky you don't have to do this. He's all scratchy and yuck."
Nodding absently, Naruto gave him a shooing motion. "Yeah, yeah, I'll remember it all once you dispel. Now get moving."
Grunting, the clone hefted Zancrow up again before taking a running start up and jumping into the air. Watching the fading orange dot for a moment, Naruto sighed before a sudden influx of memories washed into his mind. It seems like they had found the scroll.
That news brought a smile to the teens face so with a click of his heels, he ran back over.
Crouching as he slid in beside a clone, Naruto sat down just as he came to a complete stop. Seeing the scroll, he reached out greedily and snatched it away with an excited, "Gimmie!"
Unrolling it, he ignored the slap to the back of his head from the clone as it disappeared. Eyes danced in glee as Tsunade's handwriting was unveiled, so shuffling over to a rock, he leant up against it and began reading.
"So good to hear from you, Naruto! And so quickly too, I was expecting it to take you far longer to find the scroll.
I'll start off with letting you know I had Kakashi send you a separate scroll with all the tools you requested in it. There was quite a bit so that's why we had to strap them together. With that out of the way, let's talk about the really important things!"
Sighing blissfully, Naruto momentarily let his head drop back as he held the scroll to his chest. Even if it was just a letter, the blond couldn't be happier to hear his foster grandmother speak.
"So this place is called Earthland? What a remarkable world you have described! Magic of all things? Who would have guessed! I'd love to get my hands onto one of those 'mages' and see what makes them tick. I wonder if they have a system like the chakra system… that magic pouch or whatever it is they have though sounds extremely intriguing…"
Naruto chuckled as his eyes flitted across the paper. Trust Tsunade to get sidetracked on their anatomy.
"Whoops, don't mind me. I'm just so curious as to their abilities. It's like they can do everything we can and more!
So, they actually speak another language there? The sample you sent me is just amazing. I have never read anything like it in all my travels. Even with you sending the translated equivalent, it's going to take me a long time to figure it out. In saying that though, once you come back you could possibly teach everyone the language. The promise such a thing as speaking a whole other language on the battlefield holds is just too good an opportunity to pass up. To even have a scroll that can be delivered in this foreign script could potentially save hundreds of village secrets from being leaked."
Blinking in surprise, Naruto read that last part again. That hadn't even crossed his mind, but now that he thought about it, it made a great deal of sense. Frowning slightly, the blond nodded to himself. This was what he needed to start thinking about for when he became Hokage. What can be used for the betterment of his village? How can something like this help? He still had a lot to learn about the more subtle decisions the Hokage has to make, but with that in mind Naruto felt he had just realised a key part of being leader of a hidden village. Mentally writing himself a note to always remember this, he moved onto the next part.
"But enough of that, time to talk friends! You have no idea how pleased I am to hear you have gained some allies. They sound like just your type, crazy, noisy, over the top and ridiculously loyal. This Natsu fellow sounds like he could almost be a long lost brother assuming he wasn't from that dimension.
I'm also pleased to hear you have someone watching over you. While I'm not too sure how I feel about you having joined their guild, I'll leave that judgement up to you since I know basically nothing about the happenings over there. Still, to hear this Makarov has taken you under his wing is reassuring in ways you cannot imagine. I just wish it was possible to meet him at some stage!
Now, as for this' Wizard of the Ten Saints' thing, how on earth do you manage to get yourself into these situations? For crying out loud boy, I told you to take a holiday, not fight the most powerful people in their dimension! That being said though, I am so proud of you. Well done on getting recognised the way you have always dreamed. It may not be exactly what you are after, but that is just as important there as you are here."
A soft smile graced the teen's face for a moment as Tsunade's praise washed over him. It was good to know that his foster grandmother was pleased with him.
"Now, probably the most surprising part I think I heard of it all though was these girls you spoke of! They sound like fabulous women and I'm pleasantly surprised at how close you have gotten with them. Could it be you have a bit of crush on one or two of them, huh, huh? Come on, you can tell your Tsunade-baachan."
Naruto rolled his eyes at the prodding. He didn't really know what he felt about the girls exactly, outside of extreme friendship. If any of them were to be what he'd call a crush it'd be Mira-chan, but for some reason it felt a bit like the last few days she had backed off slightly, for lack of a better term. It was probably nothing though, the girl was forever busy so one day of abnormality was nothing to think over. So throwing the thought into the empty part of his mind, he continued.
"Such exciting news, my little Naruto all growing up! Once we figure out how to get you home, we'll have to see if we can bring them over here so I can meet them. I can't have just any two bit female courting my boy."
Nodding absently, the blond really hoped he would be able to find a way to tie his world to this one. He wanted all his friends from both dimensions to meet, even if they can't speak the same language.
"In saying that, the toads have discovered quite a bit of interesting information since I contacted you last. Apparently our dimensions aren't interlinked at all. I'll try simplify this for you."
Eyes thinning, Naruto sighed. Even now they thought he needed to have things dumbed down. While that may be the case here, it didn't mean he wasn't getting better, damn it.
"For an example, I'll use the parallel dimension that Mystogan fellow told you about. Edolas or whatever it's called. So, he said they run side by side meaning they have twins living in each dimension. The difference between ours and theirs is that our two dimensions are nowhere near that close together. While they run side by side, ours grow father away and closer together depending on what time exactly it is."
Sweating a bit, Naruto re-read that last part again. This was getting deep.
"If I know you you're still having trouble getting this, so try imagining this. You have two rivers that run side by side. They both turn left and right at the same time, never growing closer or further away from each other. That would be what Edolas is to Earthland. Now, imagine two rivers that flow near one another, but they aren't connected like the first two. The first river can flow far away, nearby or even loop backwards on itself momentarily. That would be our world, the Elemental Nations. Earthland can do the same, so sometimes they can be far, far apart or other times they can be extremely close together. The other problem this is something like this. I hope I can explain it correctly because even I have trouble understanding it."
Eyes widening slightly as the information continued to sink in, Naruto nibbled his lip. In a moment of genius though, he suddenly created twenty clones to all read the same thing. That should help fix that problem.
"Pretend that the water flowing through the rivers is the pace of time. Now, if there is a very big loop in one of the timelines, say the Elemental Nations, while the other flows in a straight line, Earthland, this will mean that time in the Elemental Nations will take a lot longer to pass the same amount of lineal distance as it takes the time in Earthland. So in theory that means what only feels like a day or two in your realm could take days, weeks or even months to pass by in the Elemental Nations."
Several of the clones groaned painfully as they struggled through the mentally exhausting exercise.
"Currently, by the toads reckoning, we are far apart. That is why it is so difficult to summon across the gap. However, despite the distance, the flow of time seems relatively normal. This is a good thing as it means we aren't apparently going to age several years in only a few days to you, or the other way around even. I don't know how I'd handle seeing you middle-aged!"
Wiping down his brow, Naruto blinked several times to clear his vision before re-reading that whole part again. As much as it was to take in, the blond seemed to be getting it. Tsunade was doing a fantastic job of explaining things so far.
"So with that in mind the toads want to try and summon you back as soon as they can. They don't know when they will exactly, but from what the elder toad had to say, there is a close pass coming up where the dimensions will almost touch for a moment. That only gives us a window of a day or so to summon you home, but it should be more than enough time to get it done."
His breath hitched for a moment as Naruto came across that last line.
Home. At last.
That one thought brought back a flood of memories from the fight and all his friends faces. A sudden bout of homesickness hit him suddenly and the blond couldn't help but swallow the lump in his throat as his stomach dropped. To see them all again…
"The good part of this is that to summon you home, you will first have to summon Gamakichi there so he can reverse summon you back. This means you will know when you will be able to come back, and with that you will have enough time to say goodbye to everyone over there."
Steeling his resolve, Naruto glared at the scroll as he nodded to himself. There was no way he was going to try and choose one dimension over the other. He was the Forth Hokage's son! If anyone could work out a way to do it, it was going to be him!
"What the toads suggested is that daily you try and summon them. As the link draws closer, you should find it easier to summon bigger toads without as much chakra loss. When you're finally able to contact Gamakichi, you'll know you have about a day left before you have to leave.
I know this is a great deal to try and take in, but I believe you'll get it quickly enough. With that, I think I'll have to sign off. I'm so much more relieved than last time too, so hopefully next time we speak, it will be in person. Take care of yourself and all your friends for me! Let them know I said hello would you?
Thank you and I love you, you insatiable boofhead.
Tsunade-baachan"
Lowering the scroll, Naruto began to slowly roll it up again as his group of clones all dispersed. The whack of information regarding the whole dimensional rift thing slammed into his mind and with a few moments of sorting, the blond could safely say he had a firm grip on the situation.
If what the toads said was true though, the Elemental Nations could possibly dip in close to Earthland without warning. Should that happen, he could miss valuable time to finish up on things here. Actually…
Sharp teeth pierced the skin of his finger and running though several rapid signs, the ninja slammed his hand to the floor. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!"
Pumping in enough chakra to call Gamakichi, a cloud of smoke went up briefly before dispersing into the air. Instead of the spunky orange toad though, a smaller brown thing looked up at Naruto expectantly, its head tilted questioningly as it let out a small croak.
Grinning, Naruto gave it a pat on the head and snatched an insect from the air before feeding it to the toad. "Thanks little guy! Can you relay to Ma and Pa that I got their message and will start summoning them daily?"
Eyes depressed into its head as it swallowed before raising one stubby leg in the form of a salute. It gave a croak of acceptance, a small smile and then disappeared in the same manner it appeared.
Leaning back, the teen let out a slow breath. It had certainly gotten easier to summon as they had predicted, so the final day now had a date of sorts. From how small the toad was though compared to the amount of chakra used, it was still a way away yet.
A bump then to the top of the blonds head interrupted his musings and he looked up to see himself standing over him. Dropping the scroll in his lap, the clone crossed its fingers. "I guess that's everything then?"
Nodding, Naruto looked back down at the twin scroll. "Yeah, that's it. Thanks, you can go now."
Hearing a grunt behind him, Naruto briefly found himself looking at his own back before filing it away into the correct place. Moving his attention to the parchment now on his lap, Naruto picked off the broken strapping that originally held the two scrolls together and unfurled it. A complex matrix was revealed and Naruto's eyes widened as he realised the size of the storage. With something this size, he could make his single scroll the active one while using this one to store pretty well everything else he liked.
Placing his hand over the center of it, Naruto pushed some chakra into the seal and felt a lump of tools appear beneath his palm. Grabbing a spool of wire, Naruto looked it over. It was a high quality chakra conductor that looked to be a good hundred feet in length if the tight coil was anything to go by. Dropping that into his pouch, Naruto then went over all the tools and found each to be of a high standard, much higher than he usually used in any case. Tsunade had really gone all out for him.
Sealing what he didn't need back into the scroll, Naruto slipped both of them into his pouch. Moving to stand up, a thought popped into the blonds' head. He should probably tell Kyuubi about the news, even if it didn't want to talk with him. It did help him by alerting him to the anima after all.
Deciding to make it quick, Naruto closed his eyes and sunk into his subconsciousness.
XxXxXxX
Feeling the familiar slosh of water around his ankles, Naruto opened his eyes and began walking down towards the mighty malevolent being. "Oi, Kyuubi, I got something I thought you'd like to know about."
A growl echoed though the dank chambers as the fox replied. "What could you possibly have that I would want? Other than the key to opening the cage, in which case I'd ask you to get on with it."
Rolling his eyes, Naruto sighed as the enormous enclosure came into view. "Unfortunately for you, no that's not what I'm coming to tell you. It's actually in regard to us getting back to the Elemental Nations and… have… have you changed colour?"
Finally walking through the entrance, Naruto cut off mid sentence as he got a surprising look at the giant creature nestled within him. Blood red eyes glared down at him like usual, but something seemed to be off with the rest of it. The fur of the Kyuubi was usually a vibrant red that rippled with strength and power. While it hadn't lost any of that imposing size, the colouring of its fur had seemingly shifted from that previous red to a softer pigmentation. Not in a way that it was being watered down, but that it was just changing. If anything, it seemed to be edging towards a pulsating yellow/gold.
Kyuubi narrowed its eyes at the question and looked down at one massive hand resting before it. "So it was not just my eyes. I had begun to think I had finally gone insane from boredom. I haven't much to say on this development other than mind your own business. I will discover its meaning for myself."
Frowning worriedly, Naruto shook his head and pointed up at the creature. "But this IS my business! Anything that happens to you could affect me in the end! I don't wanna suddenly start turning yellow!"
The creature snorted. "Like something this insignificant would affect you. I only wish I could do you more damage. Now, onto more important matters, what was this you had to tell me about getting us back to our rightful dimension?"
Not answering immediately, Naruto pondered the colour change for a moment longer. While unexplained, it didn't seem to be doing much to the Kyuubi other than making it tint yellow. The fact that the beast had just as much of an idea as he did about it meant that it was probably unrelated to the strange leaks through the seal. Lord knows the Kyuubi would have taken advantage of it the second it happened.
Letting out a sigh, Naruto decided to let it drop for the moment and answered the question. "Well, apparently this dimension isn't directly connected to our own. It can get further away and closer together at any given time. The toads have worked out that soon though, a near pass is coming up. When that happens, they'll be able to jump the dimensional gap to this world and reverse summon us home."
Absorbing the information instantly, the massive fox nodded as Naruto finished. "Very good. I had speculated that that could be one of the methods to our escape. In any case, what they have planned is better for your well being than what I had in mind. At least this way you'll be certain to arrive home with everything still attached to your body."
Swallowing, the blond quickly decided he didn't want to know anything about what the Kyuubi had planned for him."W-well, yeah that's pretty much it. Just thought you'd like to know."
Yawning rudely, the fox acknowledged the gesture. "Very well. You may leave me be now. Go back to playing tag with that new female friend of yours." It then grinned. "Don't go using too much of my power now."
The deep chuckle rumbled around Naruto and the teen shook his head, grumbling, "There is no way I'd over use something like that by choice."
"You say that now…" Leaving the statement open, the Kyuubi's grin stretched wide as Naruto faded from its sight.
XxXxXxX
Eyes flickering open, Naruto took a breath and looked to the sky. Now that those things were taken care of, it was time to track down Ultear.
Before that though, the teen had to try and work out what to do with that old guy, Hades is Naruto remembered correctly. Even though the conflict with him had been brief, he had shown remarkable reflexes and strength. He was also incredibly smart with how fast he picked up on Naruto being a Jinchuuriki (Human Sacrifice); not that he knew the exact details. In any case, he wasn't someone Naruto really wanted to cross swords with just now. Victory wasn't a complete guarantee and the time wasted while facing him would be more than he would want to lose.
The main goal right now was getting those key things Ultear spoke of and stopping them from drawing on any more of the Kyuubi. Getting Ultear herself was a close second, but to try and remove her from the ship would be tough. Biting his lip, Naruto had to accept that he might have to leave her behind unless a blatantly obvious chance to grab her presented itself.
First thing though was to locate that damn airship that just flew off. Relaxing, Naruto felt the abundant natural energy surrounding him into his body, the powerful energy filling him up and enhancing his senses to a degree not found in even a highly trained Jounin.
Hearing the mental 'ping' as his reserves filled to one hundred percent, Naruto held his hands out and lifted off the ground with a gentle burst of chakra. The massive thing had turned towards the north last he had seen, so jetting off in that direction Naruto stretched his senses to feel out for the missing mages.
XxXxXxX
Flying along, Naruto grunted to himself in annoyance as his keen eyes surveyed the sky before him. He should have expected a high end masking spell or something similar over the ship. While he had discovered their presence a while back, Naruto just couldn't seem to pinpoint their location. It felt fuzzy, stretching across a quarter of the sky and reaching from the ground up to beyond the clouds. Whenever Naruto then looked in the direction of the feeling, it seemed to shift slightly to make things even more difficult.
He'd been chasing the feeling around for about half an hour now and it didn't feel like he had been getting any closer to reaching the damn thing. Finally pulling to a stop, Naruto frowned and cupped his chin.
For sure he should have caught up to it by now, yet it never seemed to get any closer or further away. The feeling however was consistent in
its inconsistency, so that had to account for something. He had thought it would be a simple matter of spotting the ship with his eyes once he got in range, but because it still felt so far away, he hadn't been surprised he couldn't see it. Still though, a pinprick on the horizon would have been nice.
Actually, now that he stopped to think about it, it was rather odd that the ship wasn't getting any closer. Frowning, Naruto welled up a generous amount of chakra and then sent a veritable tidal wave of chakra though the air around him with a forceful, "Kai (Release)!"
For a split second Naruto swore he pinpointed the location of the ship, but it was rapidly covered by a shield fo some form. Clicking his tongue, Naruto grunted in frustration. For it to repair itself that quickly meant it was a continually regenerating spell of some form. However, the moment it was locatable, it was close, very close.
How to overcome the rapidly regenerating shield was the main problem. And with a small grin, an idea popped into Naruto's head. Crossing his fingers, Naruto muttered, "Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone)." Instantly surrounded by ten selves, they all shot away to space themselves at about two hundred meters apart. Starting off the chain, Naruto raised the Ram seal and muttered, "Kai" again.
For a split second the ship was almost locatable but that damn shield covered itself again. However, Naruto locked onto the general location of the signal as he felt a second wave suddenly wash over him from the first clone. Knocking the illusion down again within barely a second, the shield struggled to cover itself again in such a short time space and Naruto looked sharply to the left. A third, fourth, fifth and sixth wave slammed into him and with every hit, the shield left the ship unprotected for a moment longer. And with the final four waves, Naruto finally locked onto it. Looking straight up, chakra flooded his limbs and he shot skywards like a bullet. Bursting through a cloud, Naruto's eyes widened as he finally saw the hidden guild. Reaching out a hand just in time, he slapped his palm to the hull and was swallowed by the force field as it covered the ship once again.
Sighing as he finally got a chance to rest, Naruto crawled onto a small, hidden platform and wiped his forehead. He couldn't pause for long though, all those repeated beatings on the ships barrier couldn't have gone unnoticed. Stilling his breath as he began to meditate, Naruto quickly refilled his supply of natural energy before moving on.
Suppressing his own chakra signal as much as possible, the blond stuck close to the wall as he scaled the side of the enormous ship. Now that he wasn't being distracted by a violent mage before him, Naruto could really get an idea of just what the impressive ship was. His little platform down the very back of it was but a dot on the overall size of the thing.
Underneath the entire guild was an enormous purple spell sign, the intricately designed pattern spinning lazily around in an anti-clockwise direction. Several rings within the external glyph were rotating the opposite way and with the work of them together, somehow managed to keep the enormous thing afloat. About the third the way up the total height of the guild at the very back protruded a cone shaped tail. From this thing rotated a vertically angled seal similar to the one beneath. The difference here though was that it was much smaller and spinning a great deal faster. Understanding that to be the propulsor of the ship, Naruto turned his gaze from that and looked down the length of the panelled side.
From what he could see, there was a long central hull flanked by another, equally long float running its length. From the way it was attached, one could guess the main bulk of the airship was being supported by this float. If that was the case, then there was a good chance the other side was the same. The fleeting glimpse the teen had gotten of the underside of it before it disappeared reinforced that theory.
Windows seemed to run along the sides of the float too, indicating that was the general sleeping area for the guild. At the very front of it, a large, frilled, almost eagle-head like shield protected the float from any frontal collisions. While impressive and rather empty right now, Naruto ignored it and continued climbing. Anyone of Ultear's status wouldn't stand for being housed in the common area, and there's no way in hell they'd keep something like those keys out there.
Crawling onto the roof, Naruto held himself flat against it as he got a proper look at the mail hull for the first time. It actually looked like a boat for all intents and purposes. Its bow was about half the height of its total stature, black with purple trim and the edges of what looked like the guild symbol printed proudly on the front of it. Naruto couldn't work out the reason of sticking that on there when no one was actually going to see it. That wasn't why he was stuck fast to the floor though. The top half of it was covered by a massive black roof, completely supported by huge windows that ran around the entire thing. Naruto couldn't sense anyone in there, but should anyone look out they would undoubtly be able to spot him.
Flicking through three easy hand seals, Naruto let his chakra rise to his skin and effectively turn him invisible. That should take care of that. Still, one could never be too careful so staying low, Naruto climbed down the othersider of the float, across the thick connecting passages and onto the side of the main hull. Looking around, the blond frowned for a moment before spying what looked like an emergency escape door. Shimmying over to it, Naruto pulled himself up onto the thin platform and looked it over. There was no external handle, but the hinge joints poked through the gap indicating it swung outward. Deciding to test it, Naruto anchored the majority of his body off to the side, leaving only one chakra covered palm attached to the flat of the door. Quickly verifying no one was nearby inside, he gave it a sharp tug and was almost surprised to feel it give a fair bit. Maintenance must be a little down in this area and it was something the blond was fully willing to exploit. Tugging again, though this time a bit more gently, the latch within gave way and opened.
Grinning triumphantly, the teen stuck his head in the door cautiously and looked around. As his senses told him, no one was nearby. Creeping in, Naruto pulled the door closed behind him and tried to make it lock. Unfortunately for the blond, he found out the latch had broken due to his tugs and was now useless. Sticking a foot to the door to hold it closed, Naruto dug into his pouch and pulled free the remaining spool of his original wire. Breaking off a portion of it, the blond opened the door a fraction and knelt down near the base. Filling the wire with chakra, he pushed it against the metal and after a bit of work, managed to push it through. Repeating the process with the wall, he then looped the wire through the holes, pulled the door closed and tied the two ends together.
Giving the door an experimental push, Naruto nodded in satisfaction. It was holding well enough, but a good hit should open it. That was fine just in case he had to make a mad dash for the escape. Now, it was time to find those keys. Problem was, he had no idea what they looked like.
Having viewed the ship's design from the outside and noticed the more sealed areas towards the back, Naruto decided that heading that way would be the best. To have an area like that covered meant it was either sleeping quarters, the main safe room, or in this case, probably both. The hallway he was currently in was essentially a metallic tube with wires and other electrical panels attached to the walls at regular intervals. The chances of meeting someone beyond an engineer down here was low, but there was still no need to take chances.
Creeping along, Naruto effectively blended into the shadows seamlessly, the only thing really visible being the whites of his eyes as they peered down the tunnel. More than once he had frozen when voices floated in from all directions, but no one as of yet had actually walked into view. Eventually coming across a main man-hole of sorts, the blond stretched out his enhanced senses to make sure no one was beyond the hatch. Climbing the ladder, he carefully pushed up on the lid and peeked out.
What met his eyes was a vast contrast to the bowel of the ship. Fine wooden floors stretched off in both directions, the soft light of the overhead bulbs reflecting onto the walls gently. A plush, off white skirting covered the floor-to-wall seam with intricate patterns carved into them. The walls themselves were flat white with the occasional high quality painting hung on it. Finally, the roof was a deep maroon, flecked with gold and silver, the paint sparkling in the light.
Swallowing as he took in the vast splendour of the hall, Naruto shook his head as he silently pulled himself out. They really seemed to like luxury. Putting that out of his mind for now though, the teen frowned as he tried to pinpoint any possible locations for the keys. Most of the ship felt warm and dark, much like the place was flooded with a strong yet extremely well controlled power. It put a damper over most everything and it also felt a great deal like Hades for some reason. Despite this though, a certain room stuck out through the covering.
Knowing this signature well, Naruto began to dash silently towards it. Rounding one lavish corner, he suddenly jumped to the roof and stuck fast to it. Grumbling softly to himself, Naruto waited for the couple of oblivious mages to pass beneath him. Even with Senjutsu activated, this all consuming power was becoming a problem. It was masking weaker energy signals extremely well so with a sigh, the blond continued at a more subdued pace. He couldn't afford to accidentally run over one of the grunts.
Several minutes and close calls later, Naruto found himself ruffled and cranky, yet standing in front of the door he wanted. Those weaker mages seemed to pop up like rabbits from absolutely nowhere! Still, he was here now so anything else was irrelevant. Testing the door handle, he was unsurprised to find it locked. The key hole however proved to be no match to his lock picking skills and within a second or so, Naruto had gained entry.
Peeking through the slit, Naruto looked into the room. No one could be seen, so with all the noise of a shadow, Naruto slipped in, locked the door again and knelt in the darkest corner of the room. Effectively shielded behind a large bookcase, the blond finally took stock of the quarters he had slipped into.
Towards the back of the room was a closed door, the muffled sounds of rushing water coming out from behind it. Just beside that was a comfy looking seat and footrest that had a few clothes and underwear pieces dumped on it. From that, there was a rather large, elaborately designed bed and headpiece right in the middle of the room that butted up against the feature wall. Beside that was a night table with a single lamp sitting on it. Parallel to that was the bookcase Naruto had hidden himself beside, the actual thing full to bursting with a myriad of different manuscripts. As he had crept in, the blond had also noticed another doorway on the other side of the bookcase that probably led to a kitchenette or something like that. The actual colours of the room were very royal with the walls being a deep red, the quilt on the bedspread being a regal purple and the carpet below a deep navy blue. It seemed a bit excessive but for some reason, Naruto couldn't see it as being anything less for the owner's personal tastes.
Hearing a squeak, Naruto huddled down further into his corner as the water cut off. Suppressing his chakra to the point where he felt hollow, Naruto's orange eyes locked onto the shower door. A few seconds past before the door finally opened.
What greeted his wasn't anything he planned for, but at the same time something he should have expected. Ultear came walking out drying her long hair wearing absolutely nothing but the skin she was born in. Blinking several times, Naruto absently wiped away the tickle in his nose and looked down at the floor. He might like having a perve every now and then but he wasn't an outright lecher like his old mentor, especially within the privacy of a lady's own room. He had to say though; Ultear had a fantastic set of legs.
Hearing the woman sigh, the blonds' ears pricked as he tried to listen in for any information at all. Making sure to watch only her feet as the girl walked over to the bed, Naruto stilled himself as much as possible. Hearing the mattress compress, the bedside draw scratched open and the raven haired woman let out another sigh as she seemed to pull something out. Hazarding a glance up, Naruto found her to be mostly covered with her hair curtaining over her chest and her crossed legs hiding anything special. The piece in her hands looked like it could be a photo or a letter of some sort and it seemed to have a special meaning to her as she stroked her finger over it. A melancholy smile crossed her face and Naruto frowned when he heard her mumble, "I'm sorry Naruto. Soon everything will be ok. Soon."
The only thing that stopped him from escaping the second he heard his name was the fact he knew without a shadow of a doubt that there was no way she knew he was there listening. Though that asked the question, what was she apologising for? Was she really that sorry about breaking everything? If so, why didn't she just come back with him when he asked?
Frowning in confusion, Naruto ended up just mentally shaking his head. She was a very complex woman. Hearing her let out a small breath as she fell back onto the mattress, Naruto settled himself in for what could be a long wait. Only a moment later though, Ultear let out a grunt and before Naruto knew it, the towel she had been using suddenly found itself flung at him to land on his face. Ripping it off and throwing it away from his position, Naruto heard her mutter, "That's better" before rolling over.
From there, a few minutes passed until a soft chime floated through the room. Letting out a small groan, Ultear pulled herself up. Pushing herself to her feet, Naruto couldn't help but snicker silently as she scratched her backside during her walk over to whatever it was that made the noise. Hide a woman away from prying eyes and they're just as basic as any male apparently.
Hearing a soft click, Ultear then walked back into view as a familiar voice filled the room. "Ultear, I assume you have finished washing up?"
Smirking as she retrieved her towel from the floor, the female hung it from around her shoulders. "Oh Master Hades, you know you can't rush a lady when she is in the middle of cleaning up. Despite this, yes I am almost done."
A longsuffering grunt filled the room as the Master changed the subject. "Very well. Once you are done, come to see me. The keys still need to be tended to and then there is also another matter involving a breach in security I have to discuss with you."
Frowning, Naruto watched Ultear as the woman raised a thumb to nibble on. "Really? How long ago did it happen?"
Now this was interesting gauge to see how well he had managed to infiltrate the ship. "So far, all that happened was a short, rapid succession of blows to the ships cloaking spell. It was far too ordered to be a simple chance blast of Eternano. As such, I have a strong suspicion someone could have managed to get on."
Well that was good news. In a perfect world they would have never knew he boarded but this was a pretty close second. "Very well. Should there be anyone here I will catch them."
"I'd hope so. See you soon."
"Indeed."
Hearing another click signifying the end of the conversation, Naruto internally grinned in victory. 'Catch me will you? I could almost run under your nose right now and you wouldn't even know.'
Walking back into his line of sight, Naruto had to drop his eyes again. Ultear really seemed like the freedom of no clothes. Kneeling down beside the bed, Naruto soundlessly swallowed and actually closed his eyes as he was presented with an absolutely perfect a view of her backside.
This was starting to get a bit uncomfortable for the teen. He came in here to get those key things, not to hide in a corner for a free peep show.
Hearing her move away, Naruto opened his eye a slit and sighed in relief as he saw her pulling on a set of black undies. Looking back to the bed, he saw a draw actually pulled out from under it holding a few outfits. Not a bad little idea if Naruto said so himself. He might have to imitate that when he went home as it saved a great deal of space.
Next out came a rather daring dress that didn't seem to hide all that much as she pulled it on. It was a deep blue with a black sash tied up around her middle to hold things together. There was a high split up the side that allowed movement, the gap also revealing a sizeable portion of her leg. The top of it however more resembled a bikini than a dress as twin pieces of fabric ran up from her waist and over the front of her breasts to loop around her neck and run down her back. A pair of sleeve like attachments were next pulled over her arms, the independent pieces secured by a clasp around her toned biceps. Finally having finished that, the girl grabbed what looked like two red hair band before pulling her long locks out into duel, loosely tied pig tails.
Ducking into the bathroom, she quickly returned with a fresh layer of that blood red lipstick she liked and a dashing of eye shadow. Looking around her room one last time, Naruto held his breath as her eyes ran directly over him for a moment before she sighed. That was quickly replaced by a confident upturning of the corners of her mouth before she strutted over to her door and walked out.
Hearing the click of the lock, Naruto finally let out a sigh of relief now that that was all over. He really hadn't been expecting such a show and he could only think about what Jiraiya was crying out from beyond the grave. Ruffling his hair uncomfortably, Naruto finally stood up and stretched. Walking over to the door, Naruto nearly grabbed it when he saw a piece of paper and a pencil lying on the bedside table. A moment of indecisiveness washed over him as a thought jumped into his mind.
He knew he really shouldn't touch anything because that would be an instant alert as to who was here. In saying that though… the memory of Ultear looking so down didn't really want to be one he'd remember. So against all training, Naruto quickly grabbed the pencil and wrote a note before sliding it deep under her pillow. Hesitating one more moment, Naruto shook his head. It was done, time to find the keys.
Checking no one was coming, the blond quietly slipped out of the room. Feeling Ultear's presence moving away briskly, Naruto silently dashed after her. Easily catching up, he slowed down about ten meters behind her and slipped up beside a pot plant. From there, he tailed her by waiting until she rounded a corner and then running up to the wall and pressing himself against it. This continued for about five minutes until Naruto sensed something wrong. Ultear had pulled to a stop and had begun radiating power. "I know you're there, just come out."
Eyes widening, Naruto squashed himself against the wall even further. How did she know? He had been dead silent the whole time and his Henge (Transformation) was still perfect. The woman had begun walking back towards him so hoping it was just a once off thing, he scaled the wall and attached himself to the roof. Not a second later, the lady rounded the corner and looked around. "Show yourself!"
Biting his lip as she looked around aggressively, Naruto prayed to whoever was watching over him that she wouldn't find him. Swiping her arm through the air, a fine mist of ice partials rushed down the hall, bouncing off all the walls and ornaments like a sonar. Finding nothing, Naruto silently let out a breath as Ultear bit her thumbnail in confusion. "Odd, I swear I felt vibrations following me the whole time."
Blinking in surprise, Naruto watched as she turned and continued her walk. He hadn't expected something like that to be picked up, especially with how lightly he'd been treading. Still, that only pointed to how accomplished a mage she was. Shaking his head in disbelief, Naruto gave her a much longer head start before following her along the wall.
Eventually, the woman led him into a massive room that had the blond looking around in awe. The entire room was encased with a massive dome of glass, support beams running throughout the whole thing and dividing it all up into enormous squares. The ground itself was all fine wooden flooring laid in longways strips. Towards the back of the room however was a massive feature piece that had Naruto pausing in caution. A huge set of wings stuck up into the air, sitting right behind a massive throne of what looked like bone. There were three spires jutting up, the first directly behind the seat and the other two flowing outwards from it at a forty-five degree angle, easily directing all attention to the man seated in the middle of it all. In front of all that was a walkway up to the throne that was guided in by two strips of rocks rising up from the floorboards.
It was quite a spectacular sight and it more than complimented the proud and powerful Master sitting there watching as Ultear walked up before him. Now, if said lady had almost picked him just from the vibrations of his footsteps, Naruto would bet a lifetime of ramen that Hades was one hundred times more astute than his subordinate. With this in mind, the ninja opted to stick close to the door, well out of sight and hopefully sensing distance. Hearing them begin murmuring, Naruto closed his eyes and allowed the surrounding natural energy to flow through him like he wasn't there. He also directed an amount to his ears and within seconds their voices amplified to an easily audible level.
"… the key you collected. I need you to check on them and see to it that they are responding the way the writings describe. If any of us wish to reach our goals they must be perfect."
Good, that was what he'd been waiting for. Ultear will hopefully lead him right to the keys and he could grab them, destroy them and be on his merry way without them knowing any better until he was long gone. "But of course. I'll make sure that nothing goes wrong."
Humming in approval, Hades moved on. "Now, to the matter of this break in."
Naruto could imagine Ultear raise an eyebrow by the question in her voice. "It's been confirmed?"
"Not officially, but after thinking it over further, I am certain someone is aboard. I have already alerted everyone to keep their eyes and ears open. You are to comb the ship and try find any evidence of tampering. You are to report back to me as soon as you are done with any reports."
Groaning, the blond held his head. While it was good news that they still didn't know it was him, the fact everyone was now looking was going to make things super frustrating.
"Oh, and one last thing before you leave."
Hearing the hidden anger in the deep voice, Naruto frowned. What now? "It appears your blond friend has managed to defeat Zancrow. I have only just received word via a mole in the council that he is currently in a deep coma. By all intents and purposes he should be dead from what I understand."
Ultear grunted disapprovingly while Naruto's eyes widened massively. How the hell had that guy managed to survive that attack? It had been a raging inferno in there!
Ignoring Ultear's sound, Hades continued. "The attack seemed to involve a fire assult of some massive scale that even he couldn't avoid."
Ultear highly disbelieving voice cut in there as she exclaimed, "A fire attack? This mole must be lying, there is nothing flame based Zancrow cannot eat. Normal flames have a hard enough time burning him as it is!"
Growling at the woman, Hades rebuked her. "Don't claim someone is lying when you have no evidence to back yourself with. Nothing is truly impossible and this is just another example. I have seen pictures and he is a burnt crisp. The only thing that can damage someone like that is fire. From what I can theorise, the lone power that could hurt him is his own flames, so with that in mind this Naruto boy somehow turned his own ability against him."
There was a pause as Ultear processed the information. "I… I had no idea that was possible. How did he survive?"
Seemingly satisfied by the humbled answer, her Master continued. "Well, it is. Upon inspections, it was revealed he had extensive burns in his mouth and down his oesophagus. That means he must have tried eating the attack and was partially successful, hence the reason he escaped with what life he has left."
Blinking in disbelief, Naruto suddenly found a new form of respect for the insane mage. To somehow manage to eat enough of that fireball to save himself… actually, that could explain that brief fluctuation in the balls size just before it exploded. To say he was surprised was an understatement.
"Naruto has proven himself to be exceptionally dangerous. More so than anyone we have come across thus far. I will be warning everyone of this boy. I believe that currently, I am the only one who would stand a chance against him. If you ever do happen to run into him again, you are to escape immediately, do I make myself clear? I do not want to have to deal with another problem like this."
Frowning at the warning, Naruto couldn't help but feel a little disgruntled. It's Hades' own fault for putting him up against the mage. If he'd just let the keys go everything would have gone much smoother. And now Ultear wasn't allowed to see him again? Even if she still needed to fess up to her crime, she was still his friend and he wasn't about to break that tie with her so easily.
Nevertheless, Naruto could only hope that Ultear's, "Yes Master Hades, I understand" was a lie like most of what she said.
For now though he had to forget that. It was time to get on with it the most pressing mission. "Very good. Now, go and check the keys and then get searching."
Bowing to her superior, Ultear turned away and began walking to the door. "As you command, sir."
Squashing himself into the corner again, Naruto eyed the woman as she walked past him. Not even daring to breathe she was that close, the teen waited until she was a good distance away before releasing his breath. Taking one last look at the dangerous mage seated in the middle of the room, Naruto shook his head before tailing his lead.
XxXxXxX
The powerful mage before him seemed to walk deep into the ship in search for the keys to Zeref. They passed many grunts during their walk, all of them taking the time to bow to the woman as she strode by. Even with all the people however, Naruto found himself grinning each time another mage passed them as none so much as even twitched an ear in his direction.
Looking around as things got less fancy and more metallic, Naruto mentally gave himself a high five for placing little markers on each corner to help guide him out. Passing through a solid doorway, Naruto looked around as the entire hall abruptly swapped from a relatively comfortable design into one of pure machinery. Following the mage, Naruto guessed they were getting close. Eventually Ultear came to a stop before an impressive pair of doors that were barred by a sturdy set of rods. Suddenly, the mage turned around and released a wave of ice fragments in every direction. Panicking, Naruto scrambled to dive into a cleft in the wall just as the wave washed past him. Breathing deeply at the surprise move, Naruto peeked around the corner as Ultear stared straight up at him. 'Crap.'
Not moving one iota, the blond watched on as the mage slowly walked over to where he was. Realising what she was planning, he desperately snuck away as silently as possible, pumping as much chakra around him as he dared to hold up the camouflage. He managed to get to the other side of the hall via the roof and looked back just in time to see Ultear fill the space with more ice partials. Letting out another breath, the blond flattened himself up against a pipe. Ultear really was a tricky human to track.
Satisfied there was no one in the gap, the mage walked back over to the door and flicked her hand over the right-hand wall as a small pad presented itself. Weaving an intricate sign over it, the pad flashed a soft blue before retracting into the wall. Memorising the pattern as best he could, Naruto waited for Ultear to enter before he crawled in after her.
The doors slid shut smoothly behind them and the room blacked out for a moment before a pale light illuminated a box at the back of the room. Thankful for even more cover, Naruto snuck up closer than he'd otherwise have dared and watched as Ultear pulled the cover off. A self sustaining purple glow flickered across the wall as the lid was rested to the side.
Peering over the mages shoulder from his perch on the wall, Naruto finally got a look at the keys. There were several within, all glowing gently as Ultear reached in and pulled one out. The key itself was in the form of a stylised 'Z' with a single oval eye in sitting right in the middle of the diagonal stroke.
Raising a confused eyebrow as Ultear began stroking it gently, Naruto tried to find a source of power within it but failed. Outside of its ability to produce a weak light, it didn't feel like it could do much of anything. Still, he guessed it must have some form of ability for it to muck up his seal and revive Zeref.
Having caressed the key long enough, Ultear replaced it and smiled down at the batch of three with an almost longing gaze. The intensity of the light picked up slightly as they were reunited and the girl's smile widened. "Beautiful… just beautiful. Don't worry Zeref, we shall come and awaken you soon. We will help you regain your full power."
Raising her head to the roof with closed eyes, the woman sighed. "Then I can fix everything. I can live the way I want. Meet who I want. Laugh the way I want." Her face then slowly hardened as her eyes opened. "Until then though, I must do whatever it takes to gain my power."
Replacing the lid, Ultear stepped back and turned to face the door. Swiping the left-hand side of the wall this time, a pad appeared and Naruto watched as she traced the original pattern in reverse. Cleaver, that would catch most people out by trying to use the same code to escape. Glowing blue, the pad retracted into the wall as the doors opened. Walking through, the mage turned and took one last look at the box as a dark shadow crept across her face. "Until then, not even you can stop me Naruto."
His heart instantly jumped into his mouth as he heard his name uttered. Swallowing the massive lump as the doors cut her off from view, the teen managed to convince himself that she wasn't talking directly to him as there was no way she'd have just left him in there with the precious keys. Still, her strange fixation on him was curious. She had such a divided mindset though that Naruto didn't even want to try and speculate what she was thinking.
Waiting several minutes to make sure she wasn't going to return, the blond ninja eventually lowered himself to the floor. Walking up to the box, he opened the lid and pulled out one of the keys. Turning it over in his hands, Naruto puzzled the piece. It really wasn't anything special. Still, it was meant to bring back Zeref so there must be something inside them. Digging around in his pouch, Naruto pulled out his scroll and unrolled it. Grabbing the remaining keys, he placed them on the sealing matrix and channelled chakra through them. Instantly they disappeared into the paper with a puff of smoke and Naruto rolled it up. That was the first half of the mission successfully completed, now to escape.
Walking back to the door, Naruto waved his hand over the wall. Nothing happened. Frowning, the blond tried again and got the same result. He raised an eyebrow then as he considered this new problem. So it wasn't motion sensitive apparently. If that was the case then it was most probably magically powered. He wasn't about to try and run chakra run through it though because if what happened to that SE car he destroyed all that time ago was anything to go by, he'd probably overload the system and blow it up. That only left magic and unfortunately, he didn't have any control over it.
Casually waving his hand over it again, Naruto pondered something. His Kawazu Kumite (Frog Kata) utilised natural energy to deliver attacks so just maybe, the magic filled natural energy might activate it.
Reaching out gently, Naruto let the flow of chakra within him guide the power through his hand and swiped the wall. There was a soft whirring from within and then the pad popped out after a moment's hesitation. Grinning successfully, he carefully repeated the sign he saw Ultear use and sighed in relief as it flicked blue. Stepping back as the doors pulled open, Naruto looked around cautiously. So far everything was going just perfectly so hopefully it would continue this way.
Creeping back the way he came, Naruto quietly checked his surrounding area for anyone as he followed his markers. As he turned a corner though, Murphy's Law kicked in and everything suddenly fell into chaos. A bright light abruptly flashed as his leg passed through a small beam of light close to the floor.
Cursing violently as an ear splitting alarm sounded out, Naruto threw all caution to the wind and took off like a rocket. He hadn't expected an alarm like that. Ultear must have been checking them off as they walked. It was no surprise he didn't see her doing that though since he had been following her from a distance. Not making the same mistake twice, Naruto leapt to the wall and charged down it as several urgent voices began reaching his ears.
The only thing that he could really be thankful for was all the noise masked his footsteps and that everyone would be expecting him to be heading towards the keys, not away. Dashing into an adjacent hallway, Naruto let a group of mages rush past him blindly. Watching them disappear, Naruto turned his eyes back to the path. From here on out it was going to be exceptionally tricky.
Slipping down a few more halls, Naruto pressed himself down behind the first pot plant he'd seen in a while as a certain pink haired girl he remembered dashed past. Her grim determination was evident on her face and Naruto watched her disappear down the corridor for a few seconds. Eventually losing sight of her, Naruto was about to leave when the ground started shaking under him. Blinking in shock, he grabbed the plant to stabilise himself as a mountain of a man thundered past him. "D-don't you worry Meredy, we'll catch this guy for sure! Though I'm not too sure if I can beat him… that doesn't mean I-I'm not ready to fight!"
The fleeting glimpse Naruto got of him was a thick, curled mass of hair growing from a staggeringly oversized head that ran down the back of a massive tan cape which fluttered behind him. Aside from that, he didn't really seem to have much else on in the way of clothing apart from a dark brown set of underwear length tights and a pair of stomping great black boots. His chalk white skin seemed to be glistening in sweat as he ran, indicating his monstrous girth wasn't due to muscle. "So, ju-just let me catch up and we'll get him together!"
Sweat dropping as the man followed the same path as Meredy, Naruto shook his head. What a strange individual. He seemed to have a fairly high level of magic within him though so Naruto was thankful he didn't grab his attention. Taking his journey back to the roof, Naruto scurried along as more and more lower class mages ran by, the halls progressively filling with them. Turning sharply, the blond headed rapidly for his escape when a dangerous voice made him freeze. "You stop right there boy. I know exactly where you are now."
Eyes widening, Naruto turned to look back down the way he came and spotted Hades of all people standing there. Anger was burning brightly within his visible eye, his calm posture radiating power. "I'll give you the option of facing me before I outright kill you for what you have done. Actually... give me back the keys quietly and I'll only erase your memory of this place and us. You have earned it."
Realising it wasn't worth hiding anymore, Naruto's body faded into sight as the cloaking technique ebbed away. Dropping to the floor, he stood up straight in front of the wily old man. "You already know my answer. I can't give these back. I've already told you this could prove to end in disaster if you keep gathering them."
Crossing his arms, the Master pinned him with a deadly stare. "I'll make the choice of whether or not I'll keep collecting Zeref's keys. Now hand them over if you don't wish to die."
Standing firm, Naruto met his gaze evenly. "You kill me and I can guarantee you will never get the keys back. You can even check me now, I don't have them on me." Technically this was true, but the old man didn't know any better.
Frowning, the first waves of power began gusting around the pair. "You'd do well not to anger me child. Within this ship there is NO ONE who could stop me. I am this ship and this ship is me."
Eyes widening, Naruto pointed a finger at him. "I knew something felt weird about this thing!"
Smirking as he uncrossed his arms, Hades began walking forward. "Yes, so with that said I must congratulate you on remaining hidden from me for so long. It was only in these last few minutes where you disregarded stealth that I was able to pick you up."
Silently cursing himself, Naruto externally remained calm. "Thanks, but that still won't make me give the keys back."
Narrowing his eye, the Master finally came to a stop before the battle ready teen. Staring him down from the considerable height difference, Hades wrinkled his nose in a moment of curiosity. "Assuming you get away, what will you do with the keys? They hold no real power themselves as I'm sure a mage of your calibre managed to work out."
Nodding slowly, Naruto took a step back to meet his gaze more readily. "I'll destroy them. I cannot let something like this unleash the monster in me."
A wash of anger rolled over the teen and he had to close his eyes against the buffering wind for a second. "You will not hand them back will you?"
The blond resolutely shook his head. Growling, the mage snatched out a hand and lifted Naruto up off the ground. "Well if that's the case I shall just kill you and search for the keys later. Despite what you claim, with you dead there is still a chance. This will also be payment for your treatment of Zancrow!"
And swiping his hand down, Hades buried his arm deep into Naruto's stomach. The blond lurched forward as blood exploded from his mouth, the droplets coating the Masters face. Hanging there for a second, Naruto flinched one last time before collapsing. Smirking, Hades held him out. "Pathetic. To think this boy managed to defeat Zancrow."
As he said that though, the teen in his hands abruptly exploded into smoke and what was actually hanging from the Masters arm was the shattered remains of a pot plant. Eyes widening in disbelief, Hades swung his arm out to fling the debris from his hand. Desperately trying to locate the elusive blond, the mage growled furiously before shouting out, "Find Naruto and KILL HIM!"
XxXxXxX
Dashing back towards the keys, Ultear suddenly skidded to a stop as her Master's livid voice resounded throughout the ship. Blinking in surprise, she made sure she heard what she thought she heard. Naruto was on the ship? But how? She hadn't felt a single…
A fist suddenly smashed into the wall and destroyed a portion of it. Of course it was Naruto! Who else could have been following her? Those footsteps had had to have been his! Not to mention that supposedly 'false call' at the keys' door! It had been him all along! Growling in frustration, the raven haired beauty turned and dashed back to her room. If she knew anything about the boy, he'd most probably have found her quarters to try and at least see what she was doing.
The door pretty well exploded off its hinges as the surprisingly sturdy lady barrelled through it. Combing the room with her eyes, Ultear scanned every little detail for a sign of tampering. Striding into her kitchenette, she flung open cupboards and tossed pots aside to see if anything had changed. Finding nothing, she stomped into the shower and repeated the process. Again coming up blank, she stormed back out into her main room.
How could he have been so undetectable? Not even Master Hades had discovered him until just moments ago! By all means that should have been impossible, but for some reason the overwhelmed woman found impossible meant absolutely nothing to the blond mystery that went by the name of Uzumaki Naruto. Groaning, she kicked her bed in anger and was just about to leave when she saw something dislodge under the pillow.
Snatching it out, her eyes flickered over the distinctly Naruto writings with growing eyes. By the end of it, she lowered it slowly, not quite able to believe what she had just read. He had heard all that? Blushing slightly, she also realised that whole time she had been completely naked. Who knew what kind of things she had shown him. Feeling her ears tingling in embarrassment, she did her best to put it out of her mind. Still though… lifting the page, she slowly read it again.
Ultear-chan.
I dunno what you're apologising to me for, but please don't worry about it. I hardly take anything to heart. If you meant sorry for breaking all that stuff and not going back to the council though, well you should just go back there like a good girl and confess. That'll make people happy again and then once you get out of prison again, we can go to Akane Resort like you wanted!
Uzumaki Naruto.
P.S. If you don't turn yourself, I will come for you. You're just lucky I can't get you now.
Allowing herself to drop to the bed, Ultear let out a breath. Was he still so obsessed over all that? A small chuckle bubbled out and the girl looked down at the piece of paper again. To her surprise though, she saw a drop of water on the page. Looking up in confusion, she tried to spot a leak. Feeling her cheeks tickling however, the girl raised a hand and brought it away. It was wet.
Eyes widening, it was then she realised she was crying. He had actually managed to make her cry, after who knew how many long years of not a single wet eye. Sniffing a bit, she quickly wiped away the moisture and looked down at the page. Flipping it over, she couldn't help but muffle a laugh as she read, Oh, and don't worry, I didn't peek. Much.
'Oh Naruto you impossible boy. I wish you weren't so damn loveable because you are the worst enemy in the world to me right now!'
Looking at the note a moment longer, the woman eventually folded it carefully and slipped the small piece of paper into her top for safekeeping. Taking her feet again as a number of mages ran past her open door, Ultear strode out, intent on finding the intruder.
XxXxXxX
Kicking open the door he had wired shut, Naruto had to quickly grab the wall as the wind suddenly ripped in through the open hole and tried to suck him out. Steadying himself, he nearly stepped out when a familiar voice reached him. "Naruto! Please, give us those keys back!"
Not really expecting the tone, his bright orange eyes turned over to face Ultear. She was standing there with mixed emotions flickering across her face, the most apparent of them being confusion. Turning away from the door, he looked her square in the eye. "I'm sorry but I can't do that."
Desperation began leaking into her voice as the girl began pleading her case. "But-but without them I can't fix everything! I can't go back in time to live the life I deserved! Please, you have no idea how long I have struggled for them!"
Keeping up his poker face, Naruto just stared at the worried mage for a moment. "So you want Zeref to somehow send you back in time to fix your childhood?"
Swallowing, she nodded wordlessly. Nothing registered on Naruto's face as he spoke again. "Was your childhood really that painful?"
Nodding again, Ultear took a step towards him. "Yes… I… I just want to go back and live with my mother; make friends the way I should have, lived the way I should have!"
Wind buffered Naruto's wild hair about and his clothes desperately tried to rip him out the door but he held firm. Piercing orange eyes bore deep into Ultear's and as much as she wanted to, she couldn't look away. "So why sacrifice everything you have achieved up until now for something that will most likely turn out to be nothing but a dream?"
Anger began creeping into her voice as Ultear threw a hand out wide. "Because everything up until now has been nothing but for this cause! If I don't follow through with it…"
"…It'll make everything you have lived for up until now irrelevant. Am I right?"
Turning shocked eyes over to the male, Ultear slowly nodded. It wasn't something she wanted to dwell on, but it wasn't something she could deny had crossed her mind in the past. As if reading her thoughts, Naruto continued. "So all the more reason to make everything from now on count! You think you are the only person who's had a hard life? My life has been nothing but loneliness and rejection until just within these last few years. You wish you could live with your mother? I wish I had known who mine even was while I was growing up!"
Blinking in surprise as Naruto revealed a portion of his secrets, Ultear shook her head. "But if you had the opportunity to go back and change it, would you? Surely you would!"
Frowning, Naruto denied it. "No, I wouldn't. My life may have been hard, but with a goal to work towards and with the friends I have made along the way, I wouldn't change anything. You need to stop dwelling in the past. Let it go, look to the future and move on."
A lost look swept across Ultear's face as Naruto backed up to the door. "But how? How am I meant to do that? What else do I have to live for?"
Finally, a smile brightened the teen's face as he grabbed the door frame. "Well, you have Meredy and me. I'd say those are two pretty good reasons. Start there! Cause I'll always be here and so will she."
Suddenly, a loud boom echoed throughout the ship and both persons flinched at the sound. "Well, that's my signal. Catch ya later."
Eyes widening, Ultear ran forward. "No, wait! The keys!"
Diving forward, Ultear just missed grabbing his shirt and stared after him as his body rapidly descended towards the earth. Her worried eyes gazed down as his voice just managed to reach her ears before the wind snatched it away. "I will come back and get you, I promise!"
Lowering her hand as a massive figure came up beside her, Ultear hung her head. "I'm sorry Master Hades. I failed."
Grunting in disgust, the man whirled away. "I did not recruit you to succeed all the time Ultear, but this cannot be tolerated. Come, we are going to chase him down. This time you will NOT disappoint me."
Taking one last look out the door, the woman held back her wildly kicking hair before turning away and following her Master back into the ship.
XxXxXxX
A/N – well, after a fairly long delay, I give you chapter 31. To make up for it though I wrote it a bit longer. Enjoy.
As for my reasons for being late, I can safely lay ALL… MOST of the blame on A fan 1204 for distracting me with a fantastic fic suggestion I just couldn't stop reading. I told him to ready himself for the flames. He replied with he is ready. Check out his fic while you're there.
Also adding to the delay was a couple of awesome new anime I have come across. I won't bore you with the details, but if you wanna know what I'm watching just ask me in your review. I'll hook you up with a couple of good programs.
On a pointless note, with this chapter I broke 300'000 words and 600 pages in my word document. Yay for me.
As for the omake, I cannot remember who it was that told me this, but please remind me who it was because the idea is just gold!
Omake
Naruto and Natsu were resting after another crazy guild fight that had claimed the lives of several chairs and tables. Most everyone was out cold and slumped over various items uncomfortably.
Groaning, Naruto pulled himself up as Natsu rolled over onto his stomach. "Wow, so that whole red shroud thing is pretty nuts hey! I had no idea it gave you so much power."
Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Naruto looked down at the mage. "What on earth make you bring that up?"
A grin began to stretch across his face as he laid his trap. "Oh, you know, just thinking about that name you hate an' all, 'Orange Rocket'."
Shuddering, Naruto smacked his lips like he tasted something bad. "Yeah… what about it?"
Grin widening immensely, Natsu proceeded to drop the bomb. "Well what with you having that red cloak 'n' all, we should call you the 'Red Rocket'!"
Bursting out laughing, it took Naruto a moment to realise exactly what happened. The fires of hell exploded around him when the penny dropped however and diving at Natsu, the enraged teen proceeded to beat the mage into an unrecognisable pulp. Regardless of this, the mocking laughter carried on for hours afterwards.
XxXxXxX
If anyone doesn't understand, search South Park – Red Rocket.
Prepare to be scarred.
Lanky Nathan
